Coneflower Cornucopia

While organizing file the other day I came across images of an interesting experiment. Some years ago while learning new painting mediums I did a number of studies of purple coneflowers in my garden. The idea was to learn to handle media besides my usual oil and occasional watercolors. With the subjects at hand just outside my studio door I did the four little paintings posted here. These are all 4x5 and done on the spot. 

The first (right) is oil paint on a 4x6 gesso panel. Like the others below, the small size allowed for quick execution and therefore loose treatment, encouraging close observation and significant simplification. 

Oil painting is probably the most satisfying medium I use. It's a suave, semi-opaque paint that stays put and dries to a durable, long-lasting film. But it's less portable than others and more expensive. Still, I love oil painting outdoors. 
 

The second image is a watercolor done on a postcard sized piece of  cold-press paper. As is clear, this kind of paint is quite transparent in comparison to somewhat more opaque oil paint. Again the small size and limited time encouraged detailed observation and rewarded simplification. Watercolor is a wonderfully quick and fun medium for outdoor and alla prima painting. Simple, portable materials continue to make this my go-to for outdoor work. 

Another art medium I've continued to explore for years is digital drawing and painting. This particular digital painting was done on an iPad using a program called Sketchbook. It is sized like the other images here, though it could be any size the user chooses. 

Examining this one after a lapse of several years suggests to me that digital painting can result in higher chroma images. It's also fascinating how digitally-made images like this can strongly suggest the use of traditional media. 

Coupling an intuitive and complex program with a tablet like iPad ought to be another even simpler way to sketch outdoors. Of course, learning a digital art program and tablet pose significant learning curves. Notheless I may begin using a table outdoors too. 

 

Finally this image was made using casein paint. Casein paint is actually a stable emulsion of oil and casein (milk protein) and comes tubed like other traditional paint media. It handles a little like oil, but is water soluble until it dries. Once casein is dry it makes a tough and durable paint film. (Think of dried milk in the bottom of a glass.) Casein isn't used much any more, being replaced by acrylics. Looking at this little painting--another 4x6--the image is at once simple but also solid-looking. 

Casein is an interesting medium that might be useful outdoors but will demand care. Some kind of drying retarder is likely available and might help keep the paint open longer.  

 

At the Marina

"At the Marina," wc/ink on paper, ~8x11

Our sketch group met again last weekend, and this time we went to an area northeast of downtown that features a marina along the Des Moines Rive and a large city park across the street. Some opted for the park but several of us went to a spot along the bike trail where there was live music and snacks. I had a Guinness (canned, alas) and spent nearly two hours drawing the building and the crowd. 

I have a new sketchbook that's larger the last few I filled, so it takes longer to finish a sketch. This one is about 8x10 so I didn't have time to complete the lower right section. Perhaps later on. 

This painting went through my usual routine of graphite drawing, painting, inking, touching up.
 

Rivulet

This new oil painting has been on the easel for a few weeks. The subject of water comes back into my work again and again, most commonly in oils. This work is a distillation of a reference image and personal observations on many creeks and rivers. The idea is to show the many features of moving water--transparency, refraction, reflection, shine, splash, and so on. The rocky bank was an interesting subject, as well. I actually close-cropped a considerably larger photo, then enlarged the result. 

"Rivulet," oil on panel, 8x16

To transfer the photo reference image to my support I simply drew in the boulders, fallen tree, and foliage. For the rocky bottom of the stream I roughed in a series of circles, ovals, and other geometric figures, using raw umber..I began with a white support, and in retrospect might have benefited from toning it. On the other hand, working somewhat transparently gave sections of the painting a nice glow.

Once I had the basic plan on the support I immediately began to vary my palette, adding earth reds, ochres, umbers and occasional brighter passages. Once the white of the support was completely covered I began working in dark passages beginning at upper left, then working across and down in a relatively orderly way. That is, left to right and up to down. Although sometimes I try to work to a complete finish in each region before moving on, many times I work to a certain level of finish, stop for a time (to allow undercoats to dry, for example), then go through the entire piece again, refining, then refining again, as I did here. 

The most difficult aspect of moving water (for me anyway) is splashes and reflection. It's awfully easy to overwork moving water, tempting to add just one more wave, one more sparkle, one more tiny ripple. But in the end I have to exercise a lot of care not to overwork. Another crucial issue is maintaining soft edges for objects below the surface. In fact it's partly the play of soft and had edges that make this kind of painting work. 

This is probably the final iteration of this work, but you'll notice I haven't signed it yet. 

4th Street

This small watercolor is actually a decoration of the front flap of my current sketchbook. I like to make a title page in my books and this one accompanies the iris I posted here a few days ago. The interesting this is the density of the colors these watercolors have. That is, they have a high pigment load that can produce wonderful opacity, when needed. 

"4th Street, Downtown," wc/ink

This sketch is about the same size as the iris I posted a few days ago, maybe 6x8, and shows a short street in the downtown entertainment district. I drew it from a snapshot of mine, drawn by the colors and shapes, mostly. The process of drawing, painting, inking and so on was fairly routine but I tried to simplify the facades and windows, particularly of the tallest building. The drybrush technique on the side of that same structure was fun, too. 

Here is the spead front page with both sketches.
 

Iris

Watercolor has become more and more important to me these past few months. Besides sketching at least once a week with my outdoor group I've also been doing smaller watercolors in sketchbooks.  

"Iris," ink and wc on paper, ~5x8

This particular watercolor is actually a decoration of the front flyleaf of my newest sketchbook. When I've worked in watercolor outside it's usually been in a 5x9 watercolor sketchbook. That size allows good attention to detail and a relatively quick finish. Most of my sketches that size are sixty to ninety minutes. Unlike those, this watercolor has much more detail and so took more time. The bicolor iris is from a personal reference photo and includes a peony in bud and about to open. The date in the upper left is the date on the flyleaf. Although I drew this in graphite, I inked it before painting, whereas I usually ink the finished painting. I reversed the steps because I wanted to study the intricate anatomy of the open flower and wasn't sure when I'd be able to add color. 

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Pairings

My New York art club--the Salmagundi Club--has a new exhibition opening Sept 1 and lasting through Sept 25 titled "Pairings." This members-only show follows an interesting premise. Entrants have submitted two works of art (any media) from their practices, separated by 20 years or more. It's a chance to contrast early works with later ones. 

I submitted these two oil paintings. The winter scene dates from 2003 while the second, summer landscape is from last year. Although my oils have evolved over the two decades separating them, realism is still my main interest.  

"Winter Walk," oil on canvas, 24x20

The street scene is a look at a Boston street after an overnight snowfall. The summer scene is a view of the back of the Des Moines Art Center. The building partly seen in the painting was designed by I.M. Pei, the well-known architect of the Louvre pyramid. 

"Behind the Museum," oil on panel, 12x16

 

Another Saturday

Last weekend the sketch group decided to spend a couple of hours at the local baseball park. There are quite a few views from the parking lot that merit sketching, including the river and bridges, the downtown skyline, the ballpark itself, and so on. 

"From the Ball Park," wc/ink on paper, 8x13

I chose downtown, which is challenging because of the jumble of building shapes and sizes. This was the beginning of a new sketchbook, too, so I wanted a relatively panoramic picture. This particular book has fairly heavy watercolor paper, bound to lie flat. I drew the skyline, then inked it and corrected drawing errors as I went. The painting step involved several layers to add depth and separate values. The new book is larger and sketches cover more, so a wider variety of compositions and sizes will be possible.